Our library focus revolves around the love of reading and writing, student achievement, good instruction, and collaboration. We want our library to be the center of our school.
Highly Effective School Library Program Action Plan (2012-2013)
Directions:Using the competencies as your guide, decide in which two or three areas you seek to improve your library program. Reflect on how/if these areas align with your school’s goals and how they will have an impact on student achievement. Then, fill out this Action Plan, ensuring that you are aligning your improvement goals to your school’s goals. If you wish to add a 3rd goal, please feel free to do so. Date: October 2012 School Librarian: Dinah Kress Library Mission:The mission of the Prairie Hills Library is to help our school community become efficient and effective users of information. The Prairie Hills Elementary School Library strives to develop independent, lifelong users of information and to promote literacy and the love of reading.
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School Unified Improvement Plan Goal (UIP) Goal
Increase utilization of effective differentiation strategies. Teachers will utilize data to form, plan and monitor instruction.
Highly Effective School Library Program Goal (SMART goal ties to a target area on HESLP Evaluation Rubric)
School librarian and building technology coordinator will collaborate with 4th grade teachers to assess students understanding and ability to ethically use information as part of several collaboratively planned lessons during the 2012-2013 school year. Assessment data (from pre, mid, post written test and a rubric for projects) will be used to inform tech and library instruction with the goal that final assessments in April will indicate that 85% of students use information ethically.
(This connects to the HESLP Evaluation Rubric target area Instruction and the Learning Environment: 1. Collaboration: Collaboration between the school librarian and faculty is a key indicator of a successful, effective library program. 2. Instruction: Effective school librarians work with teachers to align 21st century skills instruction with content delivered in the classroom. 3. Instructional Delivery Strategies. Effective School librarians take a leadership role in exploring and implementing best practices in curriculum-aligned, differentiated instruction. 4. Assessment of Student Work: the school librarian, in conjunction with the classroom teachers, should develop consistent means of assessing how well students are acquiring essential research and 21st century skills through the use of formative or summative assessments such as rubrics, etc.)
*The teacher librarian integrates 21st Century skills in the Colorado Academic Standards with curriculum content.
*The teacher librarian differentiates instruction in standards based lessons and incorporates best practice models.
Strategies/Indicators
*Pre-assess students understanding of the ethical use of information. Give a mid-year assessment at the beginning of December to check progress. Posttest will be given at the beginning of April.
*Collaborate with classroom teachers. Weigh rubric scores for ethical use of information more heavily on the second project. Applying the skills to the projects is the true goal.
*Pre-teach skills and provide support through the projects.
*Cooperative learning.
*Use technology tools for motivation and interest.
*Use data from assessments to inform further instruction.
*Modeling/demonstration.
Use a rubric to guide instruction and practice.
*Compare websites.
*Cues and questions to tap into prior knowledge.
Partners
Principal, assistant principal, building technology coordinator, 4th grade classroom teachers, special education teacher and paraprofessionals.
Measure(s) of Success
*Growth as indicated by pre and post assessment on the ethical use of information.
*Rubric assessment of 21st Century skills for projects (citation of sources using MLA format; displaying understanding that it is NOT ok to take information from a source and use it without giving credit.
*Student engagement and participation in learning: observation.
GOAL 2
School Unified Improvement Plan Goal (UIP) Goal
Increase the effective use of balanced literacy and guided reading instruction to align with the Common Core Standards.
Highly Effective School Library Program Goal (SMART goal ties to a target area on HESLP Evaluation Rubric)
The librarian will use a variety of tools to promote the library program to the students, staff, and community and this will result in a ten percent increase in volunteering and in circulation (including circulation of new guided reading and intervention materials to teachers) when comparing first semester information to second semester. (This connects to the HESLP Evaluation Rubric target area III. Program Advocacy. 10. Special Programming: Effective library programs provide a variety of programming throughout the year to engage students. Author visits, book clubs, book fairs, and other such events are tied to essential learning activities identified collaboratively with the faculty. 11. Communication, marketing, and PR: Promoting the library is a critical activity to build an effective program that is supported within the school and by the parents and community. 12. Fundraising/Development: Effective school programs aggressively seek funding for support of programs, materials and improvements. Working with support groups such as district foundations, parent groups, and local business is an essential part of building and sustaining a growing library.
Evidence Outcomes “Program Advocacy”
The teacher librarian contributes articles for school newsletters, prepares reports regarding library usage and events, and promotes the school library to the community. The teacher librarian writes grants, seeks funding sources, and/or organizes fund raisers such as book fairs to supplement library budget or fund special programs. (Our library staff put in many extra hours over the summer to input and catalog a new leveled library for guided reading groups and RtI intervention kids for our schools’ Coyote Intervention Groups.
Strategies/Indicators
*observation—teacher/staff use of library materials
*survey
*record keeping (volunteer hours and support)
*book talks
*circulation reports
*increased access and flexibility for checkout
*application for D20 Foundation Grant
*request for funds to PTA (10 i-Pads for the library)
*use of new technology (i-Pads) will increase excitement about the library
*collaborate with teachers and staff to increase support and participation in library activities
*newsletter articles
Partners
School administration, staff, students, parents, and community.
Measure of Success
*Student achievement increases through the use of new guided reading materials in the Coyote Library. *Teachers check out and utilize an increased number of library materials. *We observe an increase in parent volunteering and support.
Highly Effective School Library Cohort Reflection
School Librarian: Dinah Kress
Length of meeting or activity and reflection writing:
Reflection 1
My Reflections
Reflection Topic
End of Year Cohort Reflection
Date of meeting or activity
May 11, 2013
Insight I gained and/or how this will help me with my action plan goals
My visit to the Castle Rock schools gave me some good ideas for using space and furniture and looking for inexpensive ways to make my library my 21st Century. Meeting face to face with the cohort in May was a nice way to wrap up the year. We shared great ideas with each other; this sharing is so helpful. There is no reason for everybody to constantly reinvent the wheel or to feel isolated in their program.
“Aha’s”
This year, we purchased a set of ten iPads for use in the library. There has been a steep learning curve this year, as far as the management of the iPads with the Configurator, etc. I am really looking forward to a class I am helping teach for our district this summer—I Pads in the Primary Classroom, and looking forward to being ready for some great new project possibilities using them next school year.
Questions
Could we plan to share 21st Century skills assessments next year?
Action Items I’m Taking as a result of this activity
*Continue to add titles to our e-book shelf. When you purchase multiuser copies it is like having a class set of the books. This is great, especially for nonfiction books that tie to curriculum. *Develop my Action Plan in the first few weeks of school…the sooner the better. *Create and share with principal, assessments (pre and post) at least one per grade level per quarter for key areas of instruction.
School: Prairie Hills Elementary
Street Address: 8025 Telegraph Drive
City: Colorado Springs, CO
District: District 20
Phone: 719-234-5145
Email Address: dinah.kress@asd20.org
School Library Website URL:
PHE Library WebsiteHighly Effective School Library Program Action Plan (2012-2013)
Directions:Using the competencies as your guide, decide in which two or three areas you seek to improve your library program. Reflect on how/if these areas align with your school’s goals and how they will have an impact on student achievement. Then, fill out this Action Plan, ensuring that you are aligning your improvement goals to your school’s goals. If you wish to add a 3rd goal, please feel free to do so.
Date: October 2012
School Librarian: Dinah Kress
Library Mission: The mission of the Prairie Hills Library is to help our school community become efficient and effective users of information. The Prairie Hills Elementary School Library strives to develop independent, lifelong users of information and to promote literacy and the love of reading.
(SMART goal ties to a target area on HESLP Evaluation Rubric)
(This connects to the HESLP Evaluation Rubric target area Instruction and the Learning Environment: 1. Collaboration: Collaboration between the school librarian and faculty is a key indicator of a successful, effective library program. 2. Instruction: Effective school librarians work with teachers to align 21st century skills instruction with content delivered in the classroom. 3. Instructional Delivery Strategies. Effective School librarians take a leadership role in exploring and implementing best practices in curriculum-aligned, differentiated instruction. 4. Assessment of Student Work: the school librarian, in conjunction with the classroom teachers, should develop consistent means of assessing how well students are acquiring essential research and 21st century skills through the use of formative or summative assessments such as rubrics, etc.)
“Effective Instruction”
“Instructional Delivery Strategies”
*The teacher librarian differentiates instruction in standards based lessons and incorporates best practice models.
*Collaborate with classroom teachers. Weigh rubric scores for ethical use of information more heavily on the second project. Applying the skills to the projects is the true goal.
*Pre-teach skills and provide support through the projects.
*Cooperative learning.
*Use technology tools for motivation and interest.
*Use data from assessments to inform further instruction.
*Modeling/demonstration.
- Use a rubric to guide instruction and practice.
*Compare websites.*Cues and questions to tap into prior knowledge.
*Rubric assessment of 21st Century skills for projects (citation of sources using MLA format; displaying understanding that it is NOT ok to take information from a source and use it without giving credit.
*Student engagement and participation in learning: observation.
“Program Advocacy”
*survey
*record keeping (volunteer hours and support)
*book talks
*circulation reports
*increased access and flexibility for checkout
*application for D20 Foundation Grant
*request for funds to PTA (10 i-Pads for the library)
*use of new technology (i-Pads) will increase excitement about the library
*collaborate with teachers and staff to increase support and participation in library activities
*newsletter articles
*Teachers check out and utilize an increased number of library materials.
*We observe an increase in parent volunteering and support.
Highly Effective School Library Cohort Reflection
School Librarian: Dinah Kress
Length of meeting or activity and reflection writing:
Meeting face to face with the cohort in May was a nice way to wrap up the year. We shared great ideas with each other; this sharing is so helpful. There is no reason for everybody to constantly reinvent the wheel or to feel isolated in their program.
*Develop my Action Plan in the first few weeks of school…the sooner the better.
*Create and share with principal, assessments (pre and post) at least one per grade level per quarter for key areas of instruction.
Our library focus revolves around the love of reading and writing, student achievement, good instruction, and collaboration.